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If you work with preservice or inservice teachers and/or mentor professional development with teachers, how do you integrate SciPacks,SciGuides, and the NSTA Indexer into your instruction or mentoring? Since we have main content areas identified as a primary hierarchy for out discussions, I may post this same question in more than one of the various content areas, so be sure to take a quick browse in another area to contribute to the discussions. Thanks a bunch - we look forward to a lively discourse. ~patty

We use Indexers as a way to self assess, followed by SciPacks for content PD and incorporation of SciGuide lessons, etc. in their implementation of content into pedagogy. I am using the Learning Center as a whole as a text for my preservice elementary students. The Indexers are closely tied to the SciPacks so some of the content (heavy emphasis on corals in Life science) doesn't seem relevant to my students so students are allowed to choose to do Indexers. They read articles shared by me and their peers. They create collections to support their planning of lessons. They share the collections so that each student has a file of science resources. I'll ask them to complete a SciPack based upon another pretest and write a lesson to address misconceptions in that content area with help from the SciPack and SciGuides. That's an overview.

Bambi, Thanks for sharing your strategies for using the LC and indexers with your future teachers. The overview surely will serve as a nice model for another instructor to consider. What are the costs involved in your process for the students, if any, and how do you deal with awarding credit? Dollars seem to be shrinking for science education in the upcoming semesters and institutions and PD programs are looking for ways to fund teachers development and enhancement. Any additional insights will be helpful. Thanks a bunch for sharing. ~patty

Hi Patty and Bambi, I, too, use the NSTA Learning Center with my preservice teachers in the elementary education degree program through Southern Illinois University/Carbondale - satellite campus in Grayslake, Illinois. Patty asks, "What are the costs involved in your process for the students, if any, and how do you deal with awarding credit?" There are so many of NSTA's resources that are free, that my students were told last semester that they had a choice as to whether to join as a student member or just register to use the free components of the Learning Center. However they knew they would be required to purchase the articles that we used in class that were not free. Some students became members, and some did not. The ones who did were delighted with having access to so many more resources! Plus, my students love being able to put on their resumes that they are members of NSTA! Each semester I incorporate more and more of the resources in The Learning Center into my science methods classes. I am very grateful to NSTA for making access to the Learning Center easy and so many resources free. With all of costs involved in attending a university, I have students who would not be able to afford the added expense of even one journal subscription before they get their first teaching position. Carolyn

Carolyn, thanks for raising so many cogent points about the freedom that teachers have to utilize so many resources on the Learning Center that are 'free.' and yet, how important students feel when they become members of NSTA. Surely, it's the beginning of a lifetime collaboration :} I only hope that NSTA and the sponsors who support the learning center tune in and hear how important this free resource is to pre-service teachers. I wonder if teachers ever band together to share a membership, especially if they are taking similar courses to qualify as science teachers. ~patty

Here in Hawaii, we have bundled content-related SciPacks and SciGuides into 6 areas for professional development courses for our in-service teachers. The teachers must complete 2 SciPacks, review 1 SciGuide, implement 2 lesson plans, participate in the discussion forums, and submit a learning portfolio to receive the professional development credits that is applicable for salary increase. The HiDOE had purchased access licenses for the teachers so there is no cost to those who are participating.

Aloha Renee! That is so wonderful that the state supports its science teachers like that! I am very impressed. Have you gotten back positive feedback from participating teachers about the program and process? Carolyn

Hi Carolyn -- The HiDOE teachers were thrilled to be able to use the NSTA Learning Center! The feedback I received was mainly how they had wished they had known about the site earlier in their career as it would have made their lives a lot easier. They appreciated the SciGuides with lesson plans, resources, student samples for their immediate use. However, some of the teachers felt the content in the SciPacks were a little too difficult and struggled in passing the final assessment. But overall, they liked the material and packaging it for their professional development credits was also a huge encouragement for them to use the site.

Mahalo Renee, for sharing how you use these LC resources with your students and for letting us know that students really find the NSTA resources valuable. Your students are very fortunate to have instructors who are connected with others and who are not bound by traditional texts. Do you use e-books at all with your students? Patty

Arlene, Thanks so much for sharing how you integrate SciPacks and other LC resources into your courses. I found the SciPacks to be very strong resources for teachers who fall into that 'cross-over' category - either their content background is not strong in one of the basic sciences or they have not had science or math since high school and are terrified. The gentle and personal instruction of the SciPacks combined with the 'for your eyes only' evaluation segments after each major content area empower teachers to move ahead and challenge themselves with second-level courses. Also, as so many of us have emphasized, the material, the interactive segments,, and the pedagogy model 'best practice' and many items can be applied to personal teaching situations and learning environments. Thanks for sharing. Patty

Aloha I would be one of those happy teachers from Hawaii using this wonderful site for free, and earning PD credits! What a blessing to have access to so many resources. The Sciguides I have looked through so far have many ready-to-use lesson plans. I also like how they link you to online resources and sites you can use in your classroom. The Scipacks provided a lot of content information, and the tests weren’t too bad. The Scipack quizzes and final assessment actually gave me ideas for sample questions I can use in my class assessments. Besides completing 2 Scipacks and a review on a Sciguide, we are also encouraged to participate in discussion forums. I’ve just passed my Scipacks and I’m ready to try a few lessons from the Sciguides.

Thank you, Dawn, for sharing your own personal experience with the NSTA Learning Center and how you are using the SciPacks! It's also great how you are thinking of ideas to create your own classroom assessments based on the SciPack assessments! :) Please share how your lessons went after implementing them!

I am so excited to be back on this website and have access to all the "cool" stuff to review and look over. Its hard for me to remember why I have not been using a great resource for a few years. Ok, now I'm off to my library to explore! Thanks DOE

I echo Andrea's kudos for this fantastic science website! I am using the Learning Center and all of its resources as my E-text this fall in a preservice science methods course. I can't wait to direct my students to this discussion thread. They can hear firsthand how science teachers in Hawaii are valuing and using it to review their content knowledge, and how they are incorporating some of the resources into their science teaching. Thank you so much for sharing!